On the plus side, the glorious weather on Sunday seemed to bring every St. Louisan, young and old, male and female, four-legged and two-legged outside to enjoy the sunshine.

On the down side, it seemed to bring every St. Louisan, young and old, male and female, four-legged and two-legged outside to enjoy the sunshine.

Yep, ’tis the ol’ double-edged sword – the  fairweather masses invading the domain of regular fitness freaks – but being an inclusive sort, I’m more on the “plus side” than the “down side.” 

It’s great to see fairweather exercisers getting their heart rates up and enjoying themselves, don’tchyathink? As two-wheeled soldiers in the green movement, we should revel in the mass movement, even it means having to share space with them. Still, the down side gives me pause and prompts me to jibber jabber about the traffic problem within Forest Park.

Not vehicular traffic (I’ll get to Highway 40-shutdown congestion later this week), but the pedestrian, blade and cyclist traffic on the 6-mile loop that circles the park.

It can get sketchy on popular trails such as Forest Park, Creve Couer Lake and Grants Trail, so as part of 10 Speed’s week-long Bicycling Survival Guide, here’s a little Trail Etiquette for those of us who travel on two-wheelers.

– 1.  Wear a helmet. OK, I can almost understand old timers who bare their craniums; that’s how they were brought up. But the sans-helmet Mommie that I saw Sunday riding with her two children (one helmeted, the other helmetless in the kiddie trailer) … she should have her head examined. Come to think of it, she WILL have her head examined after she crashes and knocks herself silly … or worse.

A few years ago, the elite pros in Europe adopted a MANDATORY helmet rule after one of their own, Andrei Kivolev, died after falling on his head in a slowspeed crash. Kivolev was a budding star, but he tossed his helmet for a climb and paid with his life.

– 2. Talk, talk, talk. One thing that irks me is when a bike cat sails past on my left without saying, “On your left.” That happens a lot to ol’ 10 Speed … I mean, bike cats sailing past me. The irks-me part is that more often than not, I don’t hear a peep outta them. What? You too cool to utter a word to someone SLOWER than you? Please.

What would happen if the passee unexpectedly pulled a U-ie in front of Silent Sam and caused a crash? Whose fault would that be? Betchya ol’ Silent Sam would blame the passee even though he would be just as wrong for not making his presence known.  

10 Speed makes a habit of telling everyone he passes, be they cyclist, walker, runner, blader or iPlodder (especially them), that he’s passin’ on the left. If I run over a Pod-head who unexpectedly turns into my lane, it’ll be its fault, not mine, because it couldn’t hear my “on your left” headsup.

– 3. Leave your iPod at home. If you’re dumb enough to be listening to your iPod on your bike,  dumb enough to do a U-ie on a trail, and slow enough to be caught and run over by 10 Speed, you are truly an idiot. RUI (riding under iPod) should be a crime. You need all your senses on two wheels, lest you be knocked senseless.

– 4. It ain’t the Tour de France. If you’re working on time trialing, obsessing about keeping your heart rate up, or just getting a rush from going really, really fast, you’re a trail menace … and you’re scaring the children, who might do a U-ie into your path at any moment. 

My advice: Take your testosterone cream and hit the road, jack … or do your lactate threshold work on the Riverfront Trail or on the Madison County Trail system. You’ll go long stretches without anyone thinking you’re a jerk.

– 5. Be nice. After that, I have the nerve to write “be nice”? Well, yeah. If you’re on a crowded trail, just enjoy the ride. Forget the TT and LT HR. Forgo the rush. Chat up another cyclist. Wave at families. Pet dogs at intersections. Kiss babies. Smile and say “hi” to people moving in the opposite direction. Yield the right of way. Make friends.

For whatever reason, cyclists have an image problem, whether it comes from mis-informed drivers who don’t understand the rules of the road, or from fairweather exercisers who think we’re a menace on the trails.

Think for a minute. What criticism do we hear most? That we’re arrogant, snooty, elitist snobs? I’ve heard all of those things. I’m sure every cyclist has.

What can we do about it? Well, we can start by copping a different attitude. Kill ‘em with kindness. Smile, chat, wave, connect.

I figure a vast majority of cyclists are good-hearted, friendly people, but that the putzes create image problems for the rest of us. It’s incumbent upon all cyclists to address negative perceptions noncyclists may have of us, and where better to start than on trails where we’re close enough to actually speak and connect personally with a fellow human being.

We have the power to change our image, even if we have to do it one cyclist and one noncyclist at a time. 

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